If there is no hurry then there are plenty on £300 & less radios around. A few years ago I wanted a 10 meter radio, but all the 10 meter radios were CB's & only one which cost £250 had a VFO & that had no CTCSS, which as a 10 meter radio makes it useless on the repeaters & just a CB again.So I brought myself a secondhand Alinco DX-70TH. I get all of HF, plus 6 meters at 100 watts. I get CTCSS & repeater shift. I get loads of channels to program, I get 6 meters & I even get a remote head, so the radio can be put in the boot & the head only at the front. And the Alinco was spotless. Plus I got all of these advantages for less than the cost of a CB with only a few watts of output, no CTCSS & no repeater shift. Do you have a callsign yet SporadicE? Because there are some good Amateur Radio websites that sell some sensible priced radios. But which ask for a checkable callsign to join.

I know we've discussed this before, but I suspect you must be very lucky, or very diligent, to be able to buy HF equipment at the kinds of prices you state. I would think that £300 is the absolute minimum you could get any HF unit in fully-working, ready-to-go condition. And that's including the specialist sites like G3CWI, which I scour on a regular basis.

Where were you lucky/diligent enough to get a DX-70TH for less than the price of a CB? Even second-hand I've not seen one going for less than about £400. I wouldn't be building my own gear if I could get a decent commercial HF rig at a CB price I'm pleased for you, of course; but I'm also slightly envious, because you have bargain-hunting skills that I lack.

lars wrote:Where were you lucky/diligent enough to get a DX-70TH for less than the price of a CB? Even second-hand I've not seen one going for less than about £400. I wouldn't be building my own gear if I could get a decent commercial HF rig at a CB price I'm pleased for you, of course; but I'm also slightly envious, because you have bargain-hunting skills that I lack.

I got it via a Amateur Radio site. I'll not say which one but as long as you are not in a hurry. There are bargains around.Currently I am waiting to see if I can find a FT-7 & preferably a B in nice condition. I missed one last year by a few hours.

Am I correct in thinking you can go direct to the Intermediate license if you complete both the Foundation and Intermediate *PRACTICAL* tests, then sit ONLY the Intermediate exam (thus saving on the cost of the Foundation exam)?

Each licence step must be taken in order. You do not have to hold each licence, but must pass one step before the other. So you could pass all three in one day & go straight to full. But you would still need to take the previous two exams.

m0lsx wrote:Each licence step must be taken in order. You do not have to hold each licence, but must pass one step before the other. So you could pass all three in one day & go straight to full. But you would still need to take the previous two exams.